


Unforgettable

by gh03st_writer



Series: Loki x Reader [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A little angst, F/M, Implied Smut, i think thats it, idk man this got really outta hand, more like referenced tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 21:03:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17515859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh03st_writer/pseuds/gh03st_writer
Summary: Reader comes back to Asgard after a century to attend a banquet at the royal palace. Her past with the Princes haunts her and calls her back to try and right the wrongs she committed. Reader was in a secret relationship with Thor but when the God of Thunder starts to turn his affection on Lady Sif, reader turns her attention to Loki and ends up more tangled up with the Princes than she planned on ever being.





	Unforgettable

**Author's Note:**

> This can be read as a standalone fic or as a part 2 to “He Can’t Be Replaced”. I didn’t plan on writing any more for this, but you guys inspired me (I got a little carried away >.>) so here it goes, let the drama begin!
> 
> Also, your last name will be Valgardsdottir because your father’s name is Valgard.
> 
> *There is a traditional bread made during Ostara and there is a reference where someone breaks the eggs needed for the bread one year

It had been nearly a century since you had last seen Asgard and walked the gilded halls of the palace; a distant memory that felt like a dream the more you thought about. You could still recall the day you left for Alfheim as if it was just moments ago; you left with very little notice, not wanting to make a scene. The sooner you left, the sooner you could forget, and that was all you wanted. You wanted to forget about all the mistakes you made that led you to leave Asgard, all the pain you had caused without a thought for anyone else but yourself.

Your time at school in Alfheim taught you to be a world class diplomat, even earning a place among the school staff. After your graduation, the school offered you a position as a Professor of Diplomatic Affairs and you gladly accepted; one more reason not to return to Asgard.

A few more years passed, and you wondered if anyone even bothered to remember you back home, your family sent you a few letters asking if you had any plans to return but that was all you had heard from anyone in Asgard. You felt a twinge of loneliness as you were handed another letter from your parents, it was hard to learn that your memory might have been nothing more than a passing thought in the minds of those you considered your friends, but it was something you had come to terms with many years before. You moved to open the letter from your parents when the courier stopped you, handing you another, “One more, Professor Valgardsdottir.”

You hesitantly took the letter, the paper was much finer than your family would have used, “Thank you.”

You ran your fingers over your name in gold lettering as you flipped it over in your hands, a part of you knew where this letter was from and another part of you wanted to keep wondering. You placed the letter beside you, trying to ignore it while you read the one from your family, partially hoping the strange letter would go away.

It did not.

It was hard to focus on the letter your family sent with the other letter siting no more than a foot away. You could barely make it through half the page before you grew frustrated and decided to open the strange letter. Placing your family’s letter down, you picked up the foreign letter and carefully opened it, greeted by an invitation to the royal palace of Asgard. The invitation was nothing short of what you would expect from the royals of Asgard: gold writing, paper finer than the sheets you slept on, and a filigree border that could put most gardens to shame. You ran your fingers over the letters, admiring the work put into making such an invitation as you began to read its contents:

To Lady Y/N Valgardsdottir,

You are hereby invited to the Banquet of Ostara at the royal palace of Asgard as an honored guest and daughter of Valgard, trusted advisor to Odin.

“What in the nine realms,” you whispered to yourself as a second letter fell out from the envelope as you lifted it to place the invitation back inside. Picking the second letter up, you noticed the hand writing right away, it belonged to none other than Loki Odinson. You hesitated to read the letter, you hadn’t heard from Loki or heard anything about the Prince since you left Asgard.

Anger.

Confusion.

Anger.

From one emotion to the other, your mind and heart did summersaults as you tried to understand why you would hear from the God of Mischief after a century of silence. A million thoughts ran through your mind as you tried to reason with yourself about reading the letter, whether it would be a heartfelt confession or an anger laced admission, you weren’t sure.

You decided to go back to reading the letter from your family instead, placing the one from Loki to the side, hoping to take your mind away from the confusion and surprise of hearing from the Prince. The letter was nothing special, the usual gossip of the week along with the wellbeing of everyone. Since your father earned his position as Odin’s advisor last year, your mother sent you a letter every week to discuss the gossip among the noble diplomats and it quickly became repetitive. It offered little in the way of distracting you from the other mail you received today, you wished that your family had more to write you, but it was hard to find something new to write about when they insisted on sending you a letter every week.

Your eyes continued to stray to Loki’s letter and you finally gave in, deciding that if the letter was truly terrible you could always burn it and pretend you never received it. The letter was light, his message short and to the point:

Lady Y/N,

I am uncertain if you will read this letter, I understand that it has been a century since you left Asgard with little notice and we have not spoken since the night I asked for your hand in courtship. I was unsure if I should even include this letter when I learned that your name had been included among the names of those invited to The Banquet of Ostara, but I suppose a letter that has taken a century to write is a letter worth sending.

Perhaps I should have begun with pleasantries rather than uncertainty, but none the less, I do hope this letter finds you in good health. Your presence has been greatly missed here, I hope to see you at The Banquet.

It was neither a heartfelt confession nor an anger laced admission; it was a letter from one old friend to another and it made you miss him more than you would like to admit. Time only turned the pain of memory into background noise that soon became the only thing you could hear as you read Loki’s letter. You missed both the Princes if you were being honest with yourself, but you missed Loki much more than his older brother. Your relationship with Thor was different from your relationship with Loki. Thor was your first everything, someone you can never replace; but Loki is the one you can never forget. It was your late-night conversations with Loki that you missed the most, not the comfort of Thor’s bed. You wondered if your relationship with Loki was something that could be salvaged or something you could start over, his letter gave you a strange sense of hope that maybe he still cared for you. A hope that you were not familiar with, you rejected Loki for his brother the last time you saw him so why hope the younger Prince cared for you, the thought left a heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

A week passed, and you ultimately decided to make an appearance at the banquet of Ostara, deciding that it would be nice to see your family (and Loki). You wrote your family, telling them about your impending arrival and attendance at the banquet, you debated to write Loki as well wondering if he would welcome your reply. In the end, you decided it best to reply to Loki with a letter much like the one he sent you:

Loki,

Your letter was unexpected but not unwelcome, for a brief moment in time I wondered if you had forgotten about me and I am glad to see that is not the case. There is a century worth of conversations we have missed, I hope we can have at least one when I return.

There is something I need to tell you, but it is not something I can send in a letter, it is something that must be spoken. Something I should have told you before I left Asgard, that I was too young to understand.

I hope that our friendship has not been broken beyond repair, but I understand that may be too much to ask.

I look forward to seeing you at The Banquet.

You left for Asgard at the end of the month, your mind filled with all the possible outcomes of your trip. The trip was far from relaxing as your mind jumped from conclusion to conclusion, knowing full well that Loki will have gotten your letter long before you made it to Asgard, you wondered what kind of welcome awaited you.

When you arrived, your mother, father, and younger sister welcomed you with open arms. The four of you talked about what you missed over the past century as well as what was in the many letters your mother sent you. Your sister quickly ushered you into your old room as the four of you reached your family’s home. You laughed as you set your bags down, “What has got you in such a fuss, did you break the eggs* again this year?”

Your sister huffed, “That was one time!”

“Sure,” you chuckled as your sister playfully swatted your arm.

She put her hands on her hips triumphantly, “I know why you’re here.”

You rolled your eyes, “I was invited to the Banquet of Ostara because of father’s new position as one of Odin’s advisors, it doesn’t take a master strategist to figure it out, little fox.”

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, “That’s just what they want you to think, and stop calling me little fox, I’m not a child anymore.”

“Protest all you want, but you will always be a child to me baby sister,” you smiled, “So tell me, Asa, what is the real reason I was dragged all the way back to Asgard?”

Asa smirked, “A suitor.”

You stared at her, any semblance of a smile gone from your features, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me correctly, a S-U-I-T-O-R,” Asa replied.  
It took you a moment to process what Asa was saying, but as soon you realized the weight of her words you immediately stormed out of the room in search of your parents.

“Mother, father, I just heard the most interesting thing from Asa,” you called out.

Your mother peeked her head out from the next room, “Y/N, what are you talking about?”

You walked into the room to find both your mother and father sitting by the fireplace, “Why was I dragged all the way back here?”

Your mother knit her brows, “You weren’t dragged anywhere, you were invited to-“

“Yes, I was invited to the Banquet of Ostara, I know,” you interrupted her, “But Asa seems to think otherwise, so correct me if I’m wrong, but are you planning to hand me off to a stranger tomorrow night?”

“We’re not ‘handing you off’ to anyone, we found a suitor for you to marry,” your mother replied as if it were nothing.

“Why,” you nearly shouted in reply to your mother’s indifference.

Your father stepped in, “Watch your tone, our family has done this for generations, and you will be no exception.”

Your mother placed a calming hand on your father’s arm, “She has every right to ask why,” she looked at you with kind eyes, “For generations our family have been in marriages that were arranged by their parents, I’ve always told both you and your sister that your father and I would make sure you would always be happy and safe.”

“I didn’t think you meant that you would marry me off to some random lord with a wallet the size of his ego,” you replied as a sigh escaped your lips, “May I, at the very least, know who you will be showing me off to at The Banquet?”

Your parents shared a look, your father being the one to tell you the name of your betrothed, “Fandral.”

You tried hard not to laugh, really hard, but a giggle managed to weasel itself out of your mouth, your parents were not nearly as amused as you were. The look on their faces mirrored each other as your father addressed your amusement, “What is so funny that you can barely contain yourself?”

You weren’t sure where to start, “I’m not sure how I should say this, but Fandral has quite the reputation among women, both on and off Asgard.”

Asa had been listening in on the entire conversation, never able to resist family drama, and made her presence known only by the sound of her laughter, “Mother, father, you must be joking, Fandral of all people!”

You echoed your sister’s sentiment as the both of you started to erupt in a fit of laughter. Your parents weren’t nearly as amused as the two of you were and simply frowned at each of you with disappointment written all over their faces. They echoed each other in agreement as your mother began reprimanding the two of you, “Girls, despite the rumors, I’m certain you both will be absolutely delightful at the banquet, and not incapacitated by laughter by this time tomorrow.”

The two of you did your best to nod between your laughter as you reassured your mother, “Yes, absolutely delightful, we wouldn’t dare disrupt The Banquet with our obnoxious laughter.”

Your mother gave you look that told you to watch what you said as she dismissed the two of you, “You should go rest, tomorrow will be a long day.”

The two of you left with more laughter than silence escaping from your lips. Asa nearly tripped over her own feet as she rushed to shut the bedroom door behind her, “So, what’s the plan?”

You looked at her with confusion written everywhere but on paper, “What are you talking about?”

She huffed and folded her arms in front of her, “C’mon, Y/N, I’ve known you since the day I was born, you can’t tell me you don’t have something bouncing around in that brain of yours that will get you out of this mess.”

You thought about what your sister said, she was right, in your younger days you would have caused a storm of trouble that would embarrass your parents enough that they would think twice before trying to hand you off to someone again. Asa had the same twinkle in her eyes that you used to have, but time has dulled that mischievous spark in your eyes and certain consequences remind you what too much mischief will bring, “Little fox, the days of causing mischief to get out of obligations are over, I have learned that there are some things that you cannot change.”

She sighed, worry creeping into her voice, “What happened to you on Alfheim, before you would have caused such a storm that no one would want to marry you without your verbal permission.”

Asa watched your thought process as memories of your life before Alfheim played through your mind. She took hold of your hand as she realized why you have changed, “Not everything was your fault, Y/N, you can’t carry the burden of others on your shoulders,” her arms surrounded you in a warm embrace as she let go of your hand, “You are no Atlas.”

Your sister was the only one who knew about your past with the Princes and why you left Asgard for Alfheim. You accepted her embrace happily, thankful that there was at least one person you could talk to without judgment and seek some form of comfort, “You’re right, but I certainly could have taken more care with my actions.”

She sighed as the two of you parted, “No one, except Heimdall, can see the future.”

You laughed, “Then he should have at least given me a warning of some sort.”

“Oh, I would pay to see that conversation,” she laughed with you, “Heimdall stops you while you’re slinking through the palace one night to warn you about the consequences of your actions.”

You shook your head, “I’m certain I would have died from embarrassment alone if that happened.”

“I thought so,” she agreed.

Asa began to leave the room and head to her own room for the night as you started to move your bags about the room from where they had been conveniently placed while you were walking in the door when a letter fell out of one of your bags. She picked it up to hand it to you when she noticed the quality of the paper, “Who sent you this?”

You took the letter from her quicker than you would admit to, “No one important, it came with my invitation.”

She raised her eyebrows and stared at you in disbelief, “Wow, I didn’t know a Professor of Diplomatic Affairs could be such a terrible liar, do you teach the students that truth and honesty can conquer anything, is there a separate class for learning how to manipulate the truth?”

You mocked offense, “I’ll have you know, I teach my students to be the best damn debaters and negotiators in the nine realms.”

“Then what the hell was that sorry excuse for a lie you just told me,” she knew you better than anyone, the only person in all the nine realms that you could never lie to.

You took a deep breath before answering her, “Loki sent a letter with my invitation.”

Asa’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as she processed what you told her, she scrambled to get the letter back from you, “By Odin’s beard, you have to let me see that letter.”

You threw it in the top of your shirt in an attempt to keep it from her grasp, “Have I ever told you the story of how mother dropped you on your head as a babe, because you must be crazy if you think I’m going to let you read that letter.”

She placed her hands firmly on her hips and rolled her eyes, “That story must be about you because we both know you sticking it down your shirt won’t stop me.”

“You wouldn’t,” you gasped.

Her eyes narrowed, “You either tell me what’s in the letter or I go bodice diving.”

You sighed and raised your hands in surrender, “Alright, I’ll tell you what’s in the letter.”

She placed herself happily in the center of your bed, her smile smug and her eyes expectant. You pushed her over, making room for yourself, “I said I would tell you about the letter, not give you my bed.”

She laughed, “The sooner you tell me, the sooner I’ll give your bed back.”

You sighed, “It isn’t anything scandalous, he simply stated that my presence has been missed and he hopes to see me at The Banquet.”

Asa looked at you like you had just grown three heads, “There is nothing simple about what you just said to me.”

“Nonsense,” you laughed, “Besides, I don’t want to overthink anything and make assumptions.”

“Sis, I don’t know how to tell you this, but being a professor has turned you into the dumbest woman in all of the nine realms,” Asa stated.

You punched her arm, “I’ve done nothing but care for you and support you since the day you were born, and this is how you speak to me.”

She laughed, “You better hope my arm doesn’t bruise, I’m just telling you the truth.”

“I don’t want to get my hopes up, Asa, I just want to be able to try and clear the air a little bit,” you told her.

Asa rolled her eyes, “Yeah, okay,” she replied as she started to get under the covers of your blanket.

You started to pull the blanket out from her grasp, “What are you doing, aren’t you a little old to be sleeping in my bed with me?”

Asa took the blanket back from you, “Not tonight, big sis, we are having a sleepover and getting you mentally, emotionally, and fashionably ready for tomorrow.”

You laughed, “Fine, although is it really a sleepover if we live in the same house?”

She hit you with one of the pillows behind her, “It’s a sleepover if I say it’s a sleepover.”

“Whatever you say,” you agreed with her for the sake of not wanting to argue about nuances as you settled into bed, “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try and get some sleep, enjoy your sleepover by yourself.”

Asa ripped the covers off of you, “Absolutely not, no one in this room will be sleeping until tomorrow has a plan so fool proof that your title will be changed from Professor of Diplomatic Affairs to Professor of Strategy and Execution.”

This bickering went on for another twenty minutes until you gave in to your sister and let her plan out your entire evening tomorrow and rummage through the dresses you had brought with you from Alfheim.

She looked at all two of the dresses you had brought with you to wear and shook her head, “Seriously, you brought two of the plainest pieces of fabric I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not like I exactly went shopping before I left Alfheim,” you replied, “I do have other responsibilities than impressing every noble on Asgard.”

Asa quickly left the room, still shaking her head, and returned with a dress that was much dressier than what you brought, “Try this on, I got it last year as a gift, but it never quite fit me right.”

You sighed and took the dress from her, indulging her, “After this, I’m going to sleep, and we can finish in the morning.”

She barely heard you as she rushed you behind a wall divider, “Fine, just hurry up.”

You tried on the dress and weren’t sure if it was because of how tired you were, but it looked like it was made for you. It hugged every curve of your body like a glove, the gold and green tones brought out the color in your eyes and made it look like you were almost glowing. You stepped out from behind the divider to show Asa, “What do you think?”

Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor, “I think you have a tailor hiding back there, that dress looks amazing on you and if Loki doesn’t notice you the minute you walk in the room then he must be blind because I know everyone else will.”

You felt slightly anxious at the thought of having the eyes of everyone on you, “Asa, are you sure this is necessary, the dresses I brought are nice enough, I don’t need to show off to every noble in the room.”

She slapped your arm playfully, “You must be joking, this dress is absolutely necessary and the only thing anyone will be talking about for the next century.”

“I was hoping to be old news by now,” you replied jokingly.

She motioned for you to change back into your clothes, “You were, but talk about a comeback.”

You laughed, “Thanks, Asa, I was really shooting for the return of a century when I came back to Asgard.”

Her voice sounded as smug as she looked, “You’re welcome.”

The two of you chatted for the rest of the night as you started to fall asleep, Asa did spend the night in your room, The Banquet being the only thing she wanted to talk about. Telling her about the letter Loki sent you were either going to be the best or worst thing that had happened to you since you came back to Asgard.

The morning came quickly, and The Banquet came even quicker, time seemed to stop and speed up all at once as your family arrived at the royal palace. Asa helped you get ready and argued with you about which shoes to wear for at least an hour before your mother had to interject and ended up choosing the pair you wore.

Asa was right when she said that your dress would be the talk of the century, more than one noble admired you as you stood by one of the many banquet tables that lined the room. It made you second guess coming back to Asgard at all, but none the less, you were determined to speak with the dark-haired prince before the night’s end.

You were nervous to say the least as your mother took your arm and guided you to a nearby table with more nobles standing around it than you cared to count, “Darling, I know it can be nerve-wracking to meet the person you are told you will spend the rest of your life with, but trust me when I tell you, it won’t be as bad as you think.”

“I’m sure you’re right, I guess I have the pre-engagement nerves,” you laughed, hoping she would take that excuse and not probe you for more information.

She patted your hand that was rest on her arm, “It’s alright, we all get them.”

She believed your excuse and you sighed in relief, how were you going to tell her that the one person you were most nervous about the meeting was not the one you were promised to marry.

The exact person she was walking you over too.

When you realized where she was leading you to, you held your breath for a moment, taking a mental tally of everyone present at the table. There stood the Warriors Three, your father, your sister, and a few other nobles you couldn’t remember the names of. You weren’t sure if it was disappointment or relief that you felt when you saw that neither Prince, but you finally started to breathe regularly again as you reached the table. Your father and the Warriors Three were stuck in a match of who could tell the best battle story and your father was losing, badly. Your mother cleared her throat to announce your arrival but the laughter at the table easily swallowed her attempt at a gentle announcement. She started to laugh with the group softly and touched your father’s arm, “Dear, I’m sure that these men have more stories about triumph in battle than we have time to tell them.”

Your father looked in the direction of your mother and cleared his throat, noticing both of your arrivals, “Of course, I just get so caught up in all the tales of glory that I miss my old warrior days, being the King’s advisor is prestigious but it doesn’t quite measure up to the feeling of being on an open battlefield with your brothers behind you and your enemy staring you down.”

You chimed in, knowing that your father could easily get carried away with the subject, “Yes, but sitting at the table of advisors across from the other advisors can feel like a battlefield, I find.”

Your father scoffed, “Says the Professor of Diplomatic Affairs.”

Your mother cleared her throat once again, much louder this time, and your father took the hint, “Yes, well we didn’t come here to discuss old war stories, gentlemen, you already know my wife, I would like to introduce you to my daughter Y/N,” he motioned towards you, “She just returned back from Alfheim where she is an esteemed Professor of Diplomatic Affairs.”

You curtsied, “It is a pleasure to meet the Warriors Three after all the stories I’ve heard.”

They paused a moment, and you hoped they did not recognize you, the last thing you needed was your parents finding of your past at a formal banquet from three of the closest people to the crown prince. There was a pleading look in your eyes that they seemed to have caught as each introduced themselves to you, Volstagg and Hogun introduced themselves first, a twinkle of recognition played in their eyes and you were thankful they did not voice it. Fandral took your hand and brought it to his lips, “A pleasure to meet you Lady Y/N, I am Fandral, hopefully, your parents have told you about our engagement.”

You smiled, laughing lightly, “They have, although a surprise, better to find out before than at a public event and risk embarrassment.”

Your mother started to reprimand you as Fandral laughed, “That it is, I am sure we will get along wonderfully.”

Your mother shot you a look that said this was not over, you shot her a look in return that suggested it had only just begun. Fandral offered his arm to you, “I hope your parents do not mind, but I want to get to know more about you without curious ears listening.”

You hesitantly took his arm, “I’m certain my parents would be more than happy to see you walk away with me, although I’m not sure your fellow Warriors feel the same.” 

Volstagg and Hogun laughed at your remark as the two of you started to walk away from the table. Fandral leaned slightly closer to you, “In that dress, there are very few men that would be happy to see you walk away with me.”

“Then I have succeeded in making the entire Banquet either jealous or envious,” you replied.

He laughed as the two of you walked to the outskirts of the room, near the gardens, “That you have, although it pains me to know that I am not the one you put that dress on for.”

You smiled and took a glass from one of the nearby tables, “What gave me away?”

“It took a moment, but I remember you,” he replied, “And green isn’t exactly my color, I prefer purple.”

You laughed, “So you walked me all the way over here for what, to confirm that I am the woman you thought I was and that my feelings for one, if not both of the Princes, are still very real.”

He looked off into the garden, “No, I already knew who you were, and I know about the letter that was sent in your invitation.”

You nearly spit out your drink, “What letter?”

He smiled smugly, “Don’t act like Loki didn’t send you a letter with your invitation, I saw him sneak it into the envelope, all I had to do was get you over here.”

“What are you talking about,” you questioned.

He motioned for you to head into the garden, “For a Professor, you can be awfully dense, Lady Y/N.”

You knit your brow and started to head into the garden, “Lord Fandral, I swear on Odin’s beard that if this is some sort of weird trick you’re playing at-”

“Tricks are what I’m known for,” the voice that interrupted you took your breath away. Loki Odinson, God of Mischief, was sitting near the center of the garden. The look on your face must have given away your surprise, the god chuckled, “At a loss for words, I see.”

You weren’t sure if you were this was all an elaborate dream or not, but you didn’t care, “You could put it that way, I thought I would catch a glimpse of you at The Banquet, but it seems you found a way to sneak off to somewhere away from the crowd,” a small smile played at your lips, “Like always.”

The words coming out of your mouth weren’t the ones your brain told it say. You brain wanted to ask him a million questions, but your mouth had other ideas, “I remember this garden, its where I used to find you when no one else could.”

Loki sighed and examined one of the many flowers that were in bloom, “Y/N, I got your letter, what did you need to tell me?”

You took in a deep breath, not sure if you were ready to tell him everything that needed to be said. You started to look at the various flowers that lined the seating area of the garden, “We’ve missed a century worth of conversations, of all the conversations to have with you first, I don’t know why I didn’t imagine that this is the one we would be having.”

Loki watched you, confused, “Y/N-“

“Why aren’t you angry with me,” you interrupted him as tears threatened to make themselves known, “Why did you let them invite me here, is this some elaborate trick to embarrass me once and for all, are these the consequences of my actions that I have dreaded for so long?”

Those certainly weren’t the words your brain told you to say or the words your mouth wanted to say.

Your heart was the one pulling the strings, it had taken full control of your decisions from here on out, your brain and mouth were just along for the show.

The tears that had threatened to come out were starting to trickle down your face, Loki stood from his seat and reached for you, but you rejected his offer of comfort, “I’m sorry, I thought I could handle this, I thought time had eased the pain but it only dulled it.”

Loki’s looked at you with worry written across his face, “Y/N, please sit down and take a breath,” he motioned for you to sit on a nearby bench, “This is no trick, I only wanted to speak with you away from prying eyes and ears.”

You wiped the tears from your eyes, “You should be angrier, I led you on and then rejected you for your brother after I told myself I wouldn’t fall for either of you.”

Loki moved towards you but stopped what he realized what you, “Did you just say, ‘either of you’, as in both of us?”

You nodded your head, “Yes, that’s what ‘either of you means’, I didn’t mean to have feelings for Thor or you but now I’m stuck with these feelings that I wasn’t able to make sense of before and I can barely make sense of now and I know that this is a lot to drop on you all of a sudden but I had this whole conversation between us planned out in my head and now it’s all gone to pieces and I just-“

“Y/N, breath,” Loki had taken hold of your shoulders as you started to ramble with no end in sight, “I’ve been waiting a century to speak with you again, a conversation that has waited a century to have can wait a little longer.”

You laughed as you remembered the letter he sent you, “Just like the letter that took a century to write.”

He laughed with you, “Yes, and I’m glad I finally did, I had a thousand versions of that letter drafted, some angrier than others, but after rewriting it for the thousandth time, I decided that I missed you more than I was angry with you.”

You listened to him, not fully believing the words coming from his mouth. These were words you never imagined he would say to you. Both of you stared at each other for a moment before realizing he still had you by the shoulders. The two of you parted with a slight air or embarrassment as you began to laugh. Loki looked at you like you had finally lost your mind, “Y/N, I don’t understand what is so funny.”

You continued to laugh, “It’s funny in an ironic way, I was supposed to the one with the heartfelt confession, not you,” your laughter began to quiet itself as you started taking deep breaths, “I had a plan, Loki, I was going to tell you everything I was too young to realize when you asked for my hand in courtship and then I was going to listen to you yell at me for leading you on and thinking I could just come back and everything would be okay.”

Loki ran a hand through his hair, he wanted nothing more than to embrace and comfort you, but he didn’t want to drive you away, “You keep saying you lead me on, stop saying that, you didn’t lead me anywhere, if anything you lead me to believe we were friends.”

This was the only time, during the entire conversation, that Loki had come close to yelling or being angry. You were shocked at his words, “What are you saying, that I had nothing to do with giving you the idea that you should court me?”

Loki sighed, frustration starting to get the better of him, “I told you on that night, and I’ll tell you again as many times as you want, but my decision to ask for your hand in courtship was all of my own doing, if anything, it was my own delusions and fantasies that gave me the idea, not you.”

You listened to him, considering everything he was saying, your heart deciding that now was the perfect time to jump the gun and open your mouth before consulting the rational part of your brain, “I should have said yes.”

The world around both of you stood still as he listened to your words, “What?”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, “I should have said yes, all those years ago, I should have said yes,” you finally took a seat on the bench and stared at a nearby flower, “Loki, it was hard for me to admit that my feelings for you had grown into more than just friendship because I was so infatuated with Thor, but after I left Asgard I couldn’t forget you.”

It was Loki’s turn to stan in disbelief at the words you were saying, you refused to look at him as you continued to speak, “Thor was my first everything, first love, first time, first kiss, and no one will be able to replace him,” you finally turned your attention to Loki and noticed the look in his eyes of disbelief and even a spot of hope, “But I can’t forget you.”

Loki stared at you for a moment, taking in everything that you were saying, all the words pouring from your mouth that he had dreamed of hearing you say in one way or another. You watched him, unsure what his silence meant, “Loki, say something because now I’ve laid my heart out in front of you and I just want to know if you’re listening or if this is all some elaborate dream that my brain has cooked up.”

“What does that mean,” Loki replied.

You ran your hands down your face, “It means, I guess it means,” a long sigh escaped your mouth as you tried to explain yourself, “It means that Thor might have been my first, but I want you to be my last.”

Loki stood there a moment, unsure if was hearing you correctly. You rose from the bench and hesitantly placed a comforting hand on his arm, “Loki-”

The next thing you knew, Loki’s lips were on yours as his hands held your face. Instinctively, you wrapped your arms around his neck. The kiss seemed to go on forever before the two of you parted, out of breath. You smiled and looked up at him as he rested his forehead against your own, a smile playing on his lips as well, “I’ve waited a century to kiss you.”

You giggled, “A century is a long time to wait, I hope you don’t wait a century for our first night together, I’m not sure I can take a century of teasing.” 

His eyes darkened, “Well, darling, in that dress you might not make it through the night.”

“Loki Odinson, I’ll have you know that I am a decent woman and do not let any man into my bed on the first night,” you playfully reprimanded him.

His smile widened wickedly, “That’s alright, my bed is big enough for two.”

You gasped and laughed, untwining yourself from the mischievous god, “Before we end in either bed, we need to take care of my very recent and very unexpected engagement to Fandral.”

Loki took your arm and linked it with his, “I’m already way ahead of you, in fact, Fandral lost a bet to me and owes me a favor.”

You looked at Loki with an eyebrow raised, “What kind of favor?”

Mischief played in his eyes as he led you back into the banquet hall, “The kind that will solve your engagement problem.”

Your jaw nearly touched the floor as you took in the scene before you: Fandral dramatically kissing your sister in front of the entire banquet hall.

Loki chuckled as you rushed over to your parents who stood just as shocked as you were, “What is going on?!”

Your mother looked as mad as you should have been if you actually cared about your engagement with Fandral, “Y/N, don’t worry, your father is going to take care of this,” she looked pointedly at your father, “Right, dear?”

Your father nodded and walked over to the kissing pair, “Show’s over,” he pulled your sister from Fandral’s reach, “So is your engagement to my daughter!”

You tried to reach your father before things got out of hand, “Father, there’s something I have to tell you and mother…”

Fandral barely looked phased by your father as he called out to what appeared to be no one, “Alright Loki, you heard the man, the show’s over.”

You father looked more confused than you had been all night as Loki made his appearance known to the banquet hall, “Thank you, Fandral, although that might have been a little too dramatic, even for me.”

Fandral winked at your sister as he left to talk with the rest of the Warriors Three, “It was my pleasure.”

Your father suddenly straightened himself at the appearance of the young prince, jostling your sister that was just managing to get away from him. You held your head in your hand as Loki came to stand behind you, “You could have just told him to verbally break the engagement, ya know?”

“Where is the fun in that,” Loki replied, obviously pleased with himself about the mischief he was able to cause.

Your mother stared at the two of you, “Is there something you want to tell us, Y/N?”

You turned your attention to her, guilt written in your features, “Mother, there is so much I’ve been wanting to tell you, but let’s start with right now and then I promise to tell you everything.”

Asa rushed herself to your side, excitement bouncing off of her, “I told you the dress would work!”

Loki snaked a hand around your waist, “Yes, the dress certainly helped.”

Your father chimed in before your sister could say any more, “Apologies, your highness, but I have to ask what the meaning of all this is.”

Loki moved to offer your father his hand, “I understand you are one of my father’s advisor, allow me to formally ask for your daughter’s hand in courtship.”

Your father had very few words after that, he accepted Loki’s hand, “Well, I can’t imagine saying anything less than of course.”

You laughed at your father’s words, “I’m so glad that the two of you have found common ground and are able to get along.”

Loki’s hand found its way back around your waist as your father found his place next to your mother as she addressed you, “Y/N, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you were able to find someone you actually like to be your suitor, but I am rather displeased with how it was brought to our attention.”

You look at your mother apologetically, “Mother, I’m sorry but trust me when I tell you that it will all make so much more sense when I tell you everything.”

The rest of The Banquet went off without a hitch, your parents were mingling with nobles from every family. Thor and Lady Sif made their appearance with Freya and Odin soon to follow. You nudged Loki curiously, “Why were you the only Odinson here this whole time?”

“I had someone special to meet,” he replied.

You rolled your eyes playfully as the banquet hall welcomed the royal family. The night went smoothly, even when you met with Thor again. It was awkward at first, but if the century away from Asgard did anything, it had certainly eased the pain and feelings you had related to the crown prince, much to Loki’s satisfaction.

You spent the rest of your time split between the company of the young prince and the company of your family. Your time back on Asgard felt like it got away from you before you were needed back on Alfheim to finish teaching future nobles how to be diplomatic with others. Loki was more than reluctant to see you go, “Do you really need to go?”

You smiled, “Yes, I have responsibilities and students that are expecting me, I’ll be back after the school year is over.”

Loki frowned, “You make it sound like it’s a weekend away and not at least another four months.” 

You started to double check that you had all the bag you came with, “We could always, I don’t know, write each other letters.”

Loki wrapped his arms around you, “Hmm, maybe, or you could just not go.”

You turned around to face him, “You make a compelling case, but I have to see the rest of the school year through, I owe it to my students.”

Loki sighed, “Fine, at least promise me you won’t get engaged to anyone while we’re apart.”

You laughed, “As if I was the one who proposed to Fandral and cried about it later.”

“That’s how I remember it,” Loki teased you.

Your trip back to Alfheim was as bittersweet as you expected, but for a completely different reason.

Months passed and Loki did write you letters, and you wrote him back. The courier noticed your increase in letters and who they were from, offering you nothing more than a knowing look at each weekly delivery. You were convinced that the courier read the letters before they were handed off to you, but you never had any proof.

At the end of the school year, you handed in your resignation, much to the disappointment of the students, and happily packed your things to head back to Asgard.

Your welcome back to Asgard was much more festive than your first. Your family, Loki, and an entourage of people you don’t quite remember but look familiar were waiting for you on the other side of the Bifrost. You were surprised by the large group of people welcoming you, Loki was the first to step forward, “Welcome home, love.”

The two of you embraced and it was like that night at The Banquet all over again, you missed him during those months back at the school and the letters only made you miss him more. You parted from Loki to greet your family and wave to the large entourage of people. You looked at Loki and pointed to the group of people you didn’t exactly recognize, “Who are all these people?”

Loki smiled, “They’re here for the big announcement.”

“What announcement,” you asked.

Loki pulled you in close and dug a ring out of his pocket, “Y/N Valgardsdottir, will you marry me?”

You weren’t sure if you wanted to laugh or cry, maybe a little bit of both, “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

He kissed you and slipped the ring on your hand, “I knew you’d say that.”

“So why the fanfare,” you asked.

He chuckled, “It was this or a parade organized by none other than my brother.”

You nodded, “I’ll take the fanfare.”

The two of you laughed as your family congratulated you and the large entourage of people behind them cheered. The years to come were a mystery to you but you knew that the only thing left for you to regret is not saying “yes” sooner.


End file.
